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by Sarah Cox, Editor
(Last summer, Jeff and Nancy Hanson, who had owned Arthur's Ten Mile Lake Inn since 1995, sold the business to Dan and Cindee Petrie. Tom and I visited with the Petries this spring to find out who they are, where they come from, and what they have in mind for the restaurant.)
Dan and Cindee Petrie talked to us on the sunny, newly power-washed deck of
Arthur's. Both the Petries have a long association with the restaurant business,
though Dan's most recent job was with Polaris Industries in Medina, MN. They
lived in Elk River, and Cindee worked as a manager at the Red Lobster in Golden
Valley. She started working for Red Lobster in Wisconsin as a job for a summer
break from college (where she was studying Nursing), but was almost immediately
invited to get into management and has stayed with it, starting and managing
new restaurants for Red Lobster. In fact, the Petries first met when Dan came
looking for a temporary job and was hired by Cindee. Similarly, Dan had worked
in restaurants as a teenager; while at Colorado State University in Fort
Collins, CO (studying Political Science) he started working as a bartender at
the Sundance Steakhouse and Country Club; then he, too, moved into management.
The Petries had already decided they wanted to get further away from the city, when a friend, Harold Bruns, told them about Arthur's, which was then on the market. It proved to be just what they wanted, and in an area they liked and were familiar with. They were interested in a restaurant with a family orientation and a supper club atmosphere, rather than a business centered on a bar and late night drinking.
The changes the Petries have in mind for Arthur's are incremental rather than calling for total overhaul. They are hoping to achieve slow but continuous improvement in both the menu and the facility. The dining room is newly paneled in light wood, and the tables on the deck have dark red or blue tablecloths. Dan hopes to increase the banquet business and add catering; eventually they may increase the dining room seating. They have some ideas about landscaping, and will be painting the outside of the buildings soon.
The menu, new as of the Memorial Day Weekend, will include more fish and seafood, and some other interesting additions, though some of the favorites from the old menu are still presented. As Executive Chef the Petries have hired Ed Harepat, a friend of Cindee's from high school. Ed has 20 years experience as a chef and restaurant manager, in such places as the Riverwood Conference Center in Monticello, MN and the Vintage Restaurant in Minneapolis. The Petries say Ed is great with desserts, and that desserts will now all be made in-house.
Dan and Cindee, with three-year-old daughter Ellie, will live for the time being (after some remodeling is complete) in the apartment over the restaurant. Ed Harepat and his wife, Janelle, will live in Walker with their two-and-a-half-year-old son Eddie. We are pleased to welcome them to the community (and to the Association - Dan and Cindee are now members in good standing).
